Listen to Douglas Stuart in conversation with me on the Literary Salon podcast!

EXTRA SPECIAL EPISODE ALERT! Enjoy this full-length Literary Salon with Douglas Stuart, hot-off-the-press!

Last week the Literary Salon held a very special evening with Douglas in conversation with me at an in-person Salon in Brighton - it was an incredible conversation, and I’m still thinking about it. So join us me and the Literary Salon team as we celebrate Douglas' brilliant new novel 'Young Mungo', the story of two boys, two tribes and two Scotlands. Catholic James and Protestant Mungo live in the violent, macho world of Glasgow’s council schemes. They dream of escaping the gangs and the grey, fractured city. Will their dream come true?

'Thanks so much for a wonderful Salon Damian. I could have listened to Douglas all night. Such a tender, interesting and poignant interview.' - Araminta Hall

Young Mungo is out now and available at your local indie bookshop or from the Salon shop at bookshop.org

LISTEN HERE!

Douglas Stuart in conversation with Damian Barr

I’m excited to announce that Douglas Stuart will be joining me in Brighton on the 22nd April for the last date of his book tour, celebrating his new novel, Young Mungo! You can buy tickets HERE for this in person event at Ironworks Studios.

Doors and bar open 6.30pm (bar will be open after the event too). Douglas will be signing after the event.

Shuggie Bain broke our hearts and publishing records, winning the Booker Prize and launching Douglas Stuart. We’re proud to say we premiered Shuggie Bain at a special online Salon in June 2020 and we’re delighted to continue the conversation with the much-anticipated Young Mungo.

Young Mungo is the story of two boys, two tribes and two Scotlands. Catholic James and Protestant Mungo live in the violent, macho world of Glasgow’s council schemes. Gangs brawl along sectarian lines and life is divided. But love will always find a way. And so, James and Mungo find each other. Mungo and James dream of escaping the gangs and the grey, fractured city. Will their dream come true?

This is the Scotland Douglas Stuart grew up in. It’s also where and when Damian grew up, with a Catholic mother and Protestant father – his family as divided as the community around them. So, he can’t wait to sit down with Douglas and talk about that place and time, divided loyalties, the unintended consequences of ‘love’ and the lives of boys like James and Mungo. You will love them, and Young Mungo, just as much as you loved Shuggie Bain. And you’ll carry them in your heart forever after.

Arrive early to find your seat (seats are not allocated beforehand) and enjoy a drink in the colourful and relaxing bar area. Ironworks Studios is a brand new event and performance space in the heart of Brighton’s North Laine. Find out more here.

Get tickets here!

Damian interviews Douglas Stuart as Shelf Isolation returns to BBC this weekend!

What a great Shelfie!

The full line up for Damian Barr’s Shelf Isolation is announced – Douglas Stuart, Lorraine Kelly, Iain Stirling, Ian Rankin, Fern Brady & Alex Norton – with great inspiration on what to watch, read or listen to. Sunday nights at BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer from February 28th, 10.30pm.

Click HERE for more info.

BBC Scotland orders new series of Shelf Isolation

BOOKER Prize winner, Douglas Stuart – along with Lorraine Kelly, Fern Brady, Alex Norton and Ian Rankin – is among some of the names lined up to take part in a brand new series of Shelf Isolation on BBC Scotland.

Fronted by Damian Barr, the popular series will return to BBC Scotland screens with six, brand new episodes next month. Using the same format as before, it will feature guests chatting with Damian remotely, from their homes, about the books and box sets, music and movies that are helping them through these troubled times.

Click here for more info.

Edinburgh Book Festival Online 15th-31st August 2020

This year the Edinburgh International Book Festival will be curating a special online edition of the festival from 15th-31st August, enjoy events for adults and children for free. Through the magic of technology, they’ll be crossing continents and time zones to beam events from more than 30 countries straight into your home. There will also be digital chatrooms and Q&A sessions, and you'll even be able to meet the author and get your books signed (selected events).

You can catch Damian throughout the festival when he’ll be talking to Garth Greenwell, Douglas Stuart and Andrew O’Hagan.

Click HERE for more info on how to watch the events.

Salon LIVE Online: Douglas Stuart with Damian Barr, June 26th

Salon LIVE Online: Douglas Stuart with Damian Barr

Join Douglas Stuart and Damian Barr for a trip to 1980s Glasgow and the world of Shuggie Bain.

Shuggie Bain is a little boy growing up in 1980s Glasgow. And his world is Agnes Bain, his glamorous, calamitous mother, drinking herself ever so slowly to death. Shuggie tries to save her and finds himself in a city that’s both bleak and dazzling. This novel will break your heart only to mend it again bigger and stronger and more generous. It’s the world I grew up in and wrote about in Maggie & Me but here it’s brought to life in fiction, albeit partly autobiographical. The New York Times Book Review said: "The book would be just about unbearable were it not for the author’s astonishing capacity for love. He’s lovely, Douglas Stuart, fierce and loving and lovely. He shows us lots of monstrous behaviour, but not a single monster―only damage. If he has a sharp eye for brokenness, he is even keener on the inextinguishable flicker of love that remains.” Douglas, born and brought up in Glasgow, now lives in New York. He was chosen as one of the Observer's 'best debut novelists' earlier this year and had his first story published in the New Yorker in January. 'Found Wanting' is about growing up queer before the internet and it is INCREDIBLE. I can’t wait to talk him about all of it!

Join Douglas Stuart and Damian Barr for a conversation online from 8-9pm (UK time). Tickets are £5 plus £0.98 booking fee. CLICK HERE to get tickets.

We look forward to you joining us.

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